A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates on pretty much everything, its finals week and my grandpa just died sooo….yep.

Chapter Fourteen: Lost And Found

It was no longer than fifteen minutes after Gerard had set off into his uncertain journey that he had to fumble his foot between the brake and the gas pedals, unable to decide which one was which. As luck would have it, he managed to hit the correct pedal and the car came to a screeching halt mere inches away from a white Toyota Camry that honked at him angrily as it sped past. His heart beating quickly, a familiar feeling of horror rushed over him.

Gerard sat in the car for some time right after that, his eyes wide and staring at his surroundings.

He had no idea where he was. It was rather dark, and he could only see what the light of the street lamps offered him. There were closed buildings all around, in what looked to be a small area. A typical, mountain village setting that was cold in temperature. An assortment of hills and peaks was all he could see in the distance, each of them looking dark and ominous. They increased his feeling of being lost in uncharted territory.

Finally, he got out of the car; the cold air slapped him hard as he stepped onto the sidewalk. There was no one around, not one living breath to hear for probably miles away. Gerard could not help but wish that he was back with Frank, safe with his protector.

He then quickly reminded himself of the resentful sneer on Frank’s face from whence they last spoke, that expression which seemed to remain imprinted on his very eyeballs.

Frank had begun to hate him, even if he would never admit it to even himself. Gerard knew, because Gerard Way knew Frank Iero very well; and contrary to popular belief, Gerard Way was still Gerard Way.

Likewise, Gerard's vocabulary was still as it ever was, only the words found themselves stuck somewhere on their journey between his mind and his mouth. For example, he have liked to say such helpful phrases such as "Jamia's lying -- I never pulled Cherry and Lily into the pool, they had jumped in themselves and I was trying to get them out when she found us!", but not a single syllable of it would surface. The words were lost in the darkness, just like he was now.

His frustrations had led to his anxieties, and his anxieties to his sorrows. The vocabulary was the biggest problem, but the accident had left him with even more handicaps than he liked to think about -- particularly the crippling of his short term memory.

Suddenly, Gerard thought he heard footsteps behind him, and so he spun around. No one met his eyes, but he could not quite shake the sensation of being watched. Frowning, he decided he should stay put no longer, yet the close call with the car turned him away from the idea of getting back into it.

Gerard began to walk forward instead, his arms wrapping around himself. He had not prepared himself for the outside weather at all; he was still in his sleeveless, baggy black shirt with an ordinary pair of jeans. He looked around to see if there were any stores nearby, but every building was closed except for one.

He had to squint to see the little building in the distance with golden light still shining through it's windows. It certainly did not look like any sort of store, but it would have to do. Perhaps, Gerard pondered as he walked in it's direction, the owner of the place could allow him to stay there for the night. He imagined himself curled up uncomfortably in the corner of a room, on some dirty hard floor, attempting to sleep.

Again, he thought yearningly of Frank, but Gerard quickly reminded himself once more that Frank did not want him. He was a burden in Frank's life, and in Mikey's too. They had both made that perfectly clear.

Finally reaching the white walled building that looked more like a home than a business, Gerard knocked on it's dark brown door nervously.

He almost ended up leaving before the door swung open. A tall man stood on the other side of the entrance, who was actually quite handsome. Long blonde locks fell around his long face, which had angelic features to it.

He had very striking sapphire eyes that stared curiously at the freezing boy before him. The rosy pink lips below them then curled into a smile before they emitted the greeting, "Hello there, pretty thing. I'm Johnathan. My, don't you seem cold? Come on in, I was just preparing some nice warm soup."

Gerard surveyed Johnathan a little more, smiled timidly, and finally walked inside. Johnathan took a look outside on the street before he slammed the door behind them.

Meanwhile, not too far away, Frank awoke from a much needed nap. He was confused at first, but as the nights events came fading in to his mind, he found himself wishing he was asleep once more.

He debated checking on Gerard at first, torn between a slight bitterness and his concern for the boy. The latter eventually won, and Frank leapt out of bed, wandering out into the rest of the cottage.

Gerard was not where he had last left him, so the next place to look was naturally his bedroom. Frank walked up the stairs to the room he had setup for Gerard, but alas, that place was devoid of his friend as well.

Now this was quite alarming --- especially as Frank took notice that it was already five in the morning. He checked the bathrooms and knocked on each one. "Gerard, are you there?" he would call into them, but never to be met with an answer.

And finally, once he had searched every nook and cranny of the two story building, even in places where Gerard could not possibly fit, Frank went outside to see that his car was missing.

A sensation of pure terror overcame him, and for no reason at all, Frank screamed Gerard's name into the emptiness around him. Yet just like the person himself, any sort of reply was absent.

Next chapter: Frank searches while Gerard begins to invest his trust in someone new.